Exercises and Tips to Make Your Legs Strong

It can be easy to want to skip or overlook the importance of working out your legs when you get to the gym. You will work your legs all day if you do a lot of walking, but simply walking won't get you the killer legs you desire. How to make legs strong? It requires a combination of efforts. Whether you want to start increasing your leg strength or bump up your efforts, you will learn how to have lean and strong legs with these tips and tricks.

Tips to Make Your Legs Strong

1. Exercises

Squat tuck jumps

One of the most effective ways to strengthen your legs is from plyometric exercises which combine bodyweight movements with heart rate accelerating movements. This jump to squat movement is the perfect combination. Begin with your feet about hip-width apart and squat as low as you can go. Then, explode upwards jumping off the ground while bringing the knees up to the chest. Land and repeat.

Side Lunges

This exercise combines strength and flexibility for a full leg workout. Begin with the feet wider than the hip-width apart. You want to be in a wide straddle position. Begin to lean on the left leg and bend as far as you can go while keeping the right leg straight. Your shoulders should remain pulled mode and the torso should stay straight. Squeeze the glute muscles as you return to a standing position and shift your weight to the right leg. Repeat as many times as you can in one minute.

Pistol Squats

Pistol squats are a challenge no matter what your fitness level is. They require strength, flexibility, and balance to complete and with practice, you can perfect this move. Begin standing on one leg while keeping the other extending out in front of you. While keeping your leg straight out in front of you, begin to lower yourself down on the other leg. Go as far down as you can and then slowly raise back up and switch legs. How to make legs strong with this exercise? It requires you to eventually be able to touch the back of your thigh to your calf muscles while reaching for your toes.

Lunge Jumps

With lunge jumps, you want to focus on perfecting your form and then move on to do them as quickly as possible. To begin with, start in a lunge position with one leg in front bent at 90 degrees and one leg back bent at 90 degrees. Jump into the air and switch your legs so the back leg is in front and the front leg is back, then repeat as many times as you can in one minute.

Squat jumps

Like the squat tuck jumps, squat jumps combine bodyweight movements with plyometric movements. Begin standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Lower into a squatting position so that the thighs are parallel to the floor. Jump upwards as high as you can and then land back into a squatting position. Repeat as many times as you can.

Long jumps

Long jumps not only focus on strengthening the leg muscles, they also help strengthen the core muscles. Begin with the feet about shoulder width apart in a squatting position. Once you reach 90 degrees in your squat, jump up and forwards as far as you can. Repeat this three times for about 15 reps.

Switch jumps

For those who want to strengthen their quad muscles, this is the exercise you want to perfect. Begin with your arms at your sides in a squatting position. Jump as high as you can while you bring the arms up over your head and rotate 180 degrees in the air. When you land, lower back into a squatting position with the arms back down at your sides and then repeat. How to make legs strong with this exercise? It will require you to repeat the process as quickly as possible with little to no rest between the landing and next jump up.

2. Don't forget to warm up

You want to reduce your risk of injury and one way to do this is by taking the time to properly warm up. Doing five or ten minutes of cardio plus stretching before you do your leg exercises will prep the leg muscles for your work out. This will make your range of motion greater and your flexibility deeper.

3. Consistency

You want to be consistent with your workouts and schedule leg workout a few times a week but not back to back. You want to give your muscles a chance to heal and rest. Remember to do your exercises in sets, starting with a lower number and then building from there.

4. Focus on form

It is highly important that you get the form right for leg exercises. Not only does this reduce your risk of injury but it ensures that you are working the right muscles. Always keep your back straight and don't get discouraged by how many you can do at first. Use a mirror if possible to ensure that your form is correct as you perform each exercise.

5. Track progress

Tracking your progress is not only a good way to stay motivated and see how much you have improved, it also allows you to realize when you should be switching things up. By tracking your progress, you will be able to identify when you should be adding more to your workouts either by incorporating weights, adding more reps or trying something new to see more progress.

6. Remember to stretch

Just as stretching before your workout, it is also important to stretch after equally. Knowing how to make legs strong and working on it can lead to extra stress on the legs muscles, so it is important you stretch these muscles out to avoid injury and allow the muscles to cool down slowly.

7. Eat right

What you eat is just as important as the exercises you do. You want to eat a healthy balanced diet that will help your muscles recover quickly and will assist in the fat burning muscle building process. It is also important to properly fuel your body with the right vitamins and nutrients that will supply you with the energy you will need to power through the workout. Eat a healthy balanced diet that consists of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, whole grains, and dairy.